Introduction to Sibling Relations in Frankenstein
Sibling relations in Frankenstein, a novel by Marry Shelly, show it as full of gregarious social relations with a tinge of a mild rivalry. In fact, the typical family setup started eroding during the Romantic Period where the roles of siblings changed with the change of sexual orientation, more education and liberalization of ideas. Although relations between different siblings given in the novel seem genuine, sometimes these relations also touch the border of love that two opposite genders could have. As siblings often prove concerned for the welfare of each other, specifically sisters take care of brothers and brothers see sisters as their responsibilities, the novel also shows this amply. At the same time, nobody can live in complete solitude. If he discovers or finds something, he needs other siblings to share with and enjoy. If he suffers from some pain, he needs somebody else to share it. No outside of the family can share joys or provide comfort in pain. Siblings given by Mary Shelley in Frankenstein not only provide much needed love to each other, but also provide a mini society within a family to share joys and sorrows, while bringing harmony and balance in each other’s lives.
Brother-Sister Sibling Relations in Frankenstein
The brother-sister sibling relations is often fraught with love. The same happens in Frankenstein in all the brother-sister cases. Walton writes to his sister about whatever he sees and observes during his expedition. It is clear from his letters that Mrs. Saville has been worried about his adventures the reason that he writers her, “You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings” (Shelley 1). This clearly shows a sister’s love for her brother. Walton writers to his sister that he needs some friend who could show his concern for him, and be a friend in his loneliness which he finds in Victor. This is actually a love of a sibling for another sibling. He then tells her that his like his brother. Similarly, Victor’s siblings, Elizabeth who plays the role of his sister as well as wife when on deathbed, fulfills the duties of a sibling, as he looks upon at her, “to protect, love and cherish” (30). He cares and nurses her during illness. Same goes for his brother William whose death heralds terrible consequences of Victor’s experiment. He is greatly bereaved when his father writes him a letter of his death by the hands of monster. This is the need of love that he feels for him. This clearly shows that siblings love each other to make each other feel that there is somebody to take care of. That is the very reason that Victor thanks Walton for friendship but says, “Can any man be to me a Clerval was; or any women be another Elizabeth?” (262), which is an expression of love for sibling relations in Frankenstein.
First Cousin Sibling Relations in Frankenstein
Siblings also form first social relations during childhood. Victor does not agree to marry his adopted sister Elizabeth, until he is clarified by her, she demands his love and tells him about the will of his mother. Walton writes to his sister to keep in touch to have a social relations. He wants Victor to be his friend and brother only to have social relations. In fact, social relations with siblings make a person able to live in a society. Monster also longs to have some siblings, so that he could live a perfect life, as Mary says that the monster “gained knowledge, of brother, sister, and all the various relationships which bind one human being to another in mutual bonds” after he observes the poor family living a good life with their siblings Agatha and Felix (142). The same goes to Walton that he seeks social relation, as loneliness and alienation makes him feel estranged. That is why he passionately tells his sister about his friendship with Victor, showing sibling relations in Frankenstein.
Harmon, Balance and Sibling relations in Frankenstein
Relations of siblings, as described by Marry, in some cases, create harmony, balance and rhythm in the family life as well as individual life. When the monster sees the poor family, he hopes to join this family to see himself living happily in perfect harmony. However, the family leaves and his hopes end in smoke. He sees Agatha and Felix and thinks that, “their feelings were serene and peaceful, while mine became every day more tumultuous” (156). He wants to bring harmony to keep his feelings in check and serene. That is why he desires for siblings, or wants at least acceptance of his creator, Victor. It is also that Walton writes to his sister to bring harmony in his life, when he is away from his home. Victor, himself loses this harmony, when he comes to know that his brother is killed by the monster. This harmony is lost, as he states it that when he enters the graveyard to see their graves, and the leaves “were gently agitated by the wind” which shows a sort of restlessness in his heart lost by the death of his siblings (249). It means that Mary Shelley’s vision about sibling relations in Frankenstein is that they bring comfort, peace and above all harmony in one’s life.
Conclusion
In short, amid the confusions and ambiguities of shifting trends in relations and transformation of passions, Mary Shelley has cleared that the role of siblings in sibling relations in Frankenstein that is not only to provide much needed love in loneliness, but also to provide a small society in which they act their part, play their roles and provide love, social relations and harmony to each other. This is a balanced life that a person realizes after his interaction with his siblings. Mary Shelley wants to prove that if this balance is lost in the ambiguities as Victor has, this leads to creations such as the monster and relations such as Victor feels by the end of the novel. Therefore, her idea that siblings not only provide much needed love, but also relationship models and harmony is an example that she wants to set in her period by showing it in her novel, Frankenstein.
Works Cited
Relevant Questions Siblings Relations in Frankenstein
- How do the relationships between Victor Frankenstein and his siblings, particularly his brother William and his adopted sister Elizabeth, shape the narrative and Victor’s character development? What role do these sibling bonds play in motivating or influencing Victor’s actions throughout the story?
- The monster created by Victor Frankenstein longs for a companion and even demands that Victor create a female companion for him. How does the monster’s desire for a sibling-like relationship contrast with Victor’s earlier abandonment of him? How does this desire for companionship among characters underscore the theme of isolation and loneliness in the novel?
- Elizabeth’s relationship with her adoptive family, particularly Victor, is central to the story. How does her bond with Victor differ from his relationships with his biological family members? How does her presence and her fate serve as a reflection of the broader themes of creation, responsibility, and the consequences of Victor’s actions?
